White House launches Big Data initiative

Mar. 30, 2012 - 06:00AM
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Above, supercomputers. The Big Data Research and Development Initiative is expected to provide new technologies and methods for managing digital data to improve scientific discovery, environmental and biomedical research and national security. (File photo / Agence France-Presse)

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The White House, in conjunction with the Defense Department and other agencies, on Thursday launched $200 million in new programs aimed at improving access and analysis of large, digital data sets.

In addition to DoD, the Health and Human Services Department, National Science Foundation, Energy Department, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and U.S. Geological Survey have also committed resources to the Big Data Research and Development initiative.

Among the plans:

• A $10 million NSF project at the University of California, Berkeley, to research how useful information can be extracted from large data sets using machine learning, cloud computing and crowd sourcing.

• XDATA, a program through which DARPA is investing $25 million annually for four years to develop techniques and software tools for analyzing massive volumes of data.